Proteins and Vegans, Co-authored by holistic practitioner Priyadarshini and Roopashree bhat

As I continue rooting on going vegan, it  becomes imperative ;that we discuss the vegan foods that provide us with the most important nutrients and uber popular term these days

PROTEINS

Protein, now,  is the in- demand component, for all bodybuilders and weight-watchers alike.

Proteins combined with calcium are the vital nutrients for anyone.

We began with the vegan debate, right at non usage of milk, so traversing back : I say , the all important milk can also be derived from soy, oat and almond...these are equally fulfilling and nutritious, fulling in our calcium needs .

Now gets on a little tour of the protein array in vegan foods.

The natural vegan protein sources are

• Dals
• Beans
• High protein fruits and vegetables 
• Seeds
• Mushrooms
• Sprouts
• Tofu
• Tempeh

Some of these are conventional sources and others are unconventional, yet nutritious modern sources.

Let us look at some of them in brief ...

1. Dals  and beans 

- The easy Protein source always for vegetarians, fares well on vegan scale  too.

- lot of options to choose from.

- some beans are seasonal , making it the right ones for that time .

2. High protein fruits and vegetables

Green peas

Broccoli

Sweet potato 

Spinach

Brussel Sprouts 

Corn

Kiwi

Avocado

berries 

Its interesting to chew that ,many of the above said fruits and veggies bring in calcium too.

 Lets go nuts on seeds

 1.Chia seeds

  2.Sesame seed

   3.Flax seeds

    4.Pumpkin seeds

      5.Hemp seeds

         6.Walnut 

            7.Almonds to name a few

These seeds are

• high in fibre.
• reduce cholestral and inflammation ,
•  high in good fats that help keep our brain active.
• These pocket friendly ones, are also rich in copper, selenium and zinc too. 

Mushrooms

Mushrooms,  often underrated: provide an array of minerals, vitamins, fibre and proteins than equivalent amount of meat per 100 calories.. It is also  environment friendly, as it improves the soil quality by fixing nitrogen . The variety of mushrooms, available these days are quite a sight.

Sprouts

Its quite amusing to know, people avoid the dals and beans ; because of their ability to create gassy rumbling and bloated tummies. But lets fear not, Sprouts are always the saviour. An easy and healthy technique, Sprouting contains more vitamin B  and vitamin c than the non sprouted ones .

Sprouts are formed when a seed germinates.

It releases enzymes which digests the starch and protiens. Most plant contain phytates that binds minerals such as zinc , magnesium from absorption . Human body doesnt have enzymes to break down these phytates. Sprouting releases these enzymes helping in easy absorption. So let's get Sprouting .

 Tofu and Tempeh 

Tofu is a popular vegan protien made from soy and is quite popular too.

Tempeh lags behind Tofu in popularity ,even after faring better on nutrients scale, due to lack of information.

Tempeh is made from fermented soy and retains its nutty texture .

It has more protiens and fibres and is easily digestible as its already fermented.

Most countries package it in leaves, making it environment friendly too and reducing  carbon footprint.

 As much as the debate of vegan vs non - vegan draws to a close , i can't help, but think that we are probably helping ourselves by switching over to the new dietary ways..

As a wise man once  said, " Self help is the best help ". A little effort is all that it takes to make it better future.